Friday, May 29, 2015

Presidential Wisdom, Then And Now

A comparison of U.S. Presidential quotes and speeches, older
to newer, has a sobering effect on a knowledgeable person. First, the older
oratory:

“Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.”-
George Washington

“One man with courage is a majority.”- Thomas Jefferson

“I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessing on this house
and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men
ever rule under this roof!”- John Adams

“It is not strange… to mistake change for progress.”-
Millard Fillmore

“Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth
on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil
war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated,
can long endure.”- Abraham Lincoln

“Speak softly and carry a big stick.”- Theodore Roosevelt

“I have never been hurt by anything I didn’t say.”- Calvin
Coolidge

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”- Franklin
Roosevelt

“Let all nations know, whether they wish us well or ill,
that we will go anywhere, and pay any price, in defense of freedom.”- John
Kennedy

“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”- Ronald Reagan

*****

Now the
new and improved, progressive utterances from our modern-day leaders:

“I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to
be some kind of greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with
our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.”- Hillary Clinton, ‘falsely
describing’ her arrival in Bosnia in 1996. (Hillary, George Washington was under sniper fire. For seven years).

“I say a lot of things- millions of words a day- so if I
misspoke, that was just a misstatement.”-Hillary to the Philadelphia Daily
News’ editorial board, “explaining” her previous quote. (Well, that clears it up!).

“I want you to listen to me. I’m gonna say this again. I did
not have sexual relations with that woman…Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody
to lie. Not a single time! Never! These allegations are false.”- Bill Clinton,
addressing the nation regarding allegations of an affair with a young White
House intern.

“Indeed I did have a relationship with Miss Lewinsky that
was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong.”- Bill Clinton, addressing the
nation one week later. (He should have heeded old Silent Cal’s advice).

“YEEEEEAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”- Howard Dean, ‘excitedly’ addressing
supporters in Iowa after finishing third in a primary. (Some folks are more
easily pleased than others).

“But we have to pass the bill…so that you can, uh, find out
what is in it.”- Nancy Pelosi ‘lobbying’ on behalf of the Affordable Care Act. (Wow.
Scary. Ready. FIRE! Aim).

“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”- Barack Obama (addressing those of his followers with
over-inflated egos and under-inflated brains).

“This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to
slow and the planet began to heal.”- Barack Obama, on what people will say when
they look back at the moment he was elected. (Bad news, Barry, your people
claim that the oceans are rising faster than ever and that the planet is
rapidly becoming overheated. It certainly is succumbing to overheated rhetoric
and hyper-inflated egos).

“I think that I’m a better speech writer than my speech
writers. I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy
directors, and I’ll tell you right now that I’m gonna think I’m a better
political director than my political director.”- Barack Obama actually said
this, according to Patrick Gaspard, Obama’s first White House political
director. Gaspard was himself quoted in an interview with The New Yorker in
November, 2008. (Yes, everyone knows that “community organizer” is the best way
to acquire the knowledge and skills required to become the leader of the free
world).

“Over the last 15 months we’ve travelled to every corner of
the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states, I think, one left to go. Alaska
and Hawaii I really wanted to go to, but my staff would not…uh, justify it.”-
Barack Obama, May 9, 2008, at a campaign event in Beaverton, Oregon. (Since you
were attempting to become the President
of the United States, we were hoping you’d know how many of them there are. Maybe another year or two as community
organizer would have been best).

*****

In the
immortal words of Ricky Ricardo, “Darwin,
you got some ‘splainin to do!”

Daily Trivia Quiz Answer

Today's Answer: Andrew Jackson. ("Poll" got so worked up before the service he apparently had to be removed from the premises, as he was cussing long and loud).

Q) What words appear on the front of the penny, nickel, dime and quarter, alongside the likeness of presidents?

A) "Liberty" and "In God We Trust"

An Ode To Life

Appreciate all you have, as it- and you- will soon be gone. Leave no heartfelt words unspoken, no sweet gesture incomplete, no act of love undone. Love your spouse with passion and abandon, your kids with patience and understanding but also a firm guidance. Love also the truth, no matter how hard. If pursued by enough people with enough courage, it really will set us free.

And don't forget, we didn't ask to be born. We didn't create ourselves. We are not gods. There is a higher power.

Fireworks of the Mind

Write It Up

Whence Shall Come Another?

True Then, True Now

"If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves."- Winston Churchill

Time Well Wasted

The power lies within your hands To do with what you may But the hourglass is filled with sands Of endless yesterdays